It relates to a €75 million residential development in South Co Dublin by O’Flynn Capital Partners (OFCP). The company had challenged the local authority’s July 31st, 2015 refusal for the residential units at Beech Park, Bray Road, Cabinteely/Loughlinstown.

Mr Justice Robert Haughton quashed the council’s decision “in its entirety”, stating the developer could submit a fresh application for the project.

The case was mentioned before Judge Haughton on Friday when David Holland SC, for the company, said the fact there would be no appeal by the council to the court of appeal was welcomed by his client.

The case centred on the proposed new Druid’s Glen Road which leads to OFCP’s site from the nearby N11.

Rivals

OFCP argued it was not obliged to do this and that Dún Laoghaire Rathdown’s strategic plan for the area provided that all developers involved should build their own sections of the road.

The court found the council misconstrued and misapplied the terms of its own planning scheme and either had an improper motive for doing so or had taken irrelevant matters into consideration and failed to give adequate reasons for its decision.

Judge Haughton found the council’s “real motive” for refusing permission was either to oblige OFCP to apply jointly for permission to build the entire Druid’s Glen Road or force it to reach agreement with other landowners on how they could access their properties.

The court also found the ecological grounds for refusing permission were invalid because the council had failed to state its reasons and considerations behind this, which planning law obliged it to do.